Panning Continued

Continuing with the Panning Technique theme, from the last blog post, We’re going to add a flash to the mix. The purpose of the flash is to light the subject and stop motion in a night time setting.

Some modern electronic cameras include the ability to fire the flash just before the closing of the shutter known as Rear-Curtain Sync or 2nd-Curtain Sync. Your camera will need to have this function in order to achieve this effect (check your owners manual).

With the flash freezing the action of your subject, slower shutter speeds can be used to blur the background even more. But keep in mind, the shutter controls the available or ambient light exposure and the aperture controls the flash exposure. Adjust your ISO to give you a workable shutter speed and aperture that will give you a good overall exposure.